A number of situations exist in which the use of conventional plates and glasses is difficult. For example, at parties, picnics, and other social gatherings, guests are often obligated to stand or walk about while eating and drinking. Inevitably, they are forced to hold their plate in one hand and their glass in the other. This does not leave a hand free with which to eat. The guests must first seek out resting places for their drinking glasses. Not only is this inconvenient, but the availability of such resting places is frequently quite limited at a social gathering. Furthermore, a guest may be unable to subsequently identify his drink and may recover someone else's drink by mistake. It is also frequently difficult to carry a separate plate and glass through a buffet line or when returning to one's seat at a sporting event or movie theater.
A number of plate assemblies for eliminating the need to use both hands to carry a plate and drinking glass have been proposed. One such assembly is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,240,020, issued Apr. 29, 1941 to Raiser. That assembly includes a plate having a central aperture in which a drinking cup can be set and a hollow handle which extends downwardly from the cup-receiving receptacle. Although this device permits one to carry both the plate and cup with one hand (using the hollow handle), the cup is not actually attached to the plate and is thus easily dislodged or overturned. Furthermore, the drink can readily slosh over the open top of the cup and onto the food. Still further, the food on the plate can easily come into contact with and foul the exterior of the drinking cup; and food may slosh through the opening in the plate and pass through the hollow handle onto an underlying table or lap.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,920,804 issued Jan. 12, 1960 to Minton discloses a somewhat similar assembly in which a hollow sleeve forms a receptacle for a drinking glass. This sleeve is joined to the plate portion by a bead which releasably engages a flange on the plate. U.S. Des. Pat. No. 211,532 issued Jun. 25, 1968 to Ashton discloses a serving tray having an overall configuration very similar to that of Minton. U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,672 issued May 11, 1976 to Brundage discloses another plate having a hole in which an open drinking cup is set. In this case, the plate has a channel for balancing the plate on the user's forearm while he grasps the lower end of the cup.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,396 issued Jul. 24, 1984 to Harper discloses a plate having a recess in its upper surface for the lower end of a drinking glass. The user's thumb protrudes upwardly through a hole in the plate and presses against the base of the glass to retain it in the recess. This arrangement shares disadvantages with the devices discussed above. Since the glass is not attached to the plate, momentary relief of the thumb pressure may allow the glass to become dislodged; the drink can easily slosh out of the glass and onto the food; the food can slosh through the hole in the plate; and the food contained on the plate can easily get on the outside of the glass.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,688,992 issued Oct. 23, 1928 to Smith discloses a cup and saucer combination in which the saucer may either support or cover the cup without sliding about. However, the cup and saucer are not attached to each other. U.S. Pat. No. 2,565,912 issued Aug. 28, 1951 to Davis discloses a watercolor paint set in which the palette has a center portion that rests in the mouth of a water container. As the components of these units are not attached to each other, the units have the same disadvantages as Minton's and those of similar character.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an assembly or unit in which a glass is securely attachable to a plate so that the user can safely carry the assembly in one hand and eliminate the risk that the drink contained in the glass will slosh onto food on the plate as the assembly is carried about. Furthermore, there exists a need for such a device which eliminates the risk that food on the plate will foul the exterior of the glass and for such a device which does not require holes or other openings in the plate through which food might slosh or drip.